Reviewed: January 28, 2003
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Microsoft Games
Developer
Sega AM2
Released: October 30, 2002
Genre: RPG/Adventure
Players: 1
ESRB: Teen
7
6
6
6
7.5
Supported Features:
One of the biggest hits of the Dreamcast during its final days was the amazing RPG adventure, Shenmue, an epic game in its own right and only the first chapter of a planned 16-chapter adventure. When the axe fell on the Dreamcast the future of this series was in jeopardy. The second game had already released in Europe and Japan and US gamers were justifiably upset when it appeared they wouldn’t be able to continue their adventure.
While owners of modified Dreamcasts have been enjoying the imported version of Shenmue II, everyone else has been waiting for this game to make the move to one of the current console systems. After almost two years the much-anticipated sequel has finally arrived on the Xbox of all places. Was it worth the wait and the truckload of cash Microsoft had to pay to bring this game to domestic shores? Read on…
Shenmue II is a solid sequel to the original game offering plenty of RPG elements along with plenty of action and fighting sequences and those famous QTE’s. This game is heavily driven by an amazing story almost to the point of becoming an interactive novel. Anything that isn’t directly related to the narrative manages to support it in some way whether it being a mini-game or fight or action sequence.
For those who haven’t played the original, that game started off with our hero, Ryo, arriving home just in time to witness the murder of his father. This sets off an epic quest where Ryo seeks his revenge against Lan Di, the man who killed his father, and subsequently uncovers a much deeper plot. When the first game ends Ryo has left Japan and is headed for Hong Kong in search of the killer and a pair of mystical mirrors.
Shenmue II picks up exactly where the first game ended with Ryo literally getting off the boat in Hong Kong. For those who haven’t played the original or who need a refresher course, there is a ten minute narrative called the Shenmue Digest that summarizes everything you need to know to pick up and play this sequel. As an added bonus this game also comes with a DVD of Shenmue: The Movie that takes the cutscenes of the original game and pieces them together to create an informative movie that revealed plenty of information, including some facts that I managed to missed when I played the original a few years ago.
From the moment the title sequence ends you are transported to a 1987 Hong Kong and are in control of Ryo as he continues his pursuit of Lan Di and his quest for the two mirrors. Unlike the original game that was pretty much a solo experience, this time Ryo gets to interact with many NPC characters that will help him along in his quest. This extra level of interactivity really adds a unique dynamic to the story.
And story is what Shenmue II is all about. The first game served as more of an introduction to the characters and events and of course the unique game interface, but the sequel really develops and builds upon what we already know while answering many of the questions we were left with at the end of the original. The plot is much richer with lots of exciting and unexpected twists that ultimately climaxes in a cliffhanger ending that begs for a third installment.
This is perhaps my biggest concern and should be carefully considered before anyone invests their time or money with this game. There have been no confirmed plans or even rumors of a third installment on any system so jumping into a series that may never conclude is a risk you may be taking. Just imagine if George Lucas has never made The Return of the Jedi. Consider the unanswered questions and lack of closure.
The trip from the Dreamcast to the Xbox has given the designers time to improve a few things and ruin a few others. You now have the ability to take and collect photos (screen capturers) and view them in a scrapbook. You can play the game through a variety of photographic filters such as black-and-white, sepia tone, etc. Not very practical, but interesting. The graphics have been enhanced with brighter colors, better lighting and much smoother framerate, while the sound has been upgraded to a 5.1 mix for movies and a 4.0 mix for gameplay. The fighting engine has been upgraded to include new moves and the Japanese dubbing has been replaced with a newly recorded English dub. This last item is hardly an improvement and perhaps one of my only complaints with the game, but I will cover that later in the review.
Shenmue II takes place in a real world with a real-time clock that gives you a compelling sense of the passage of time. While the clock is admittedly accelerated so that game minutes equal only a few seconds of our time, you will still see a convincing day-night cycle and will get to follow Ryo and the other characters throughout their daily lives. Other games attempt similar time cycles but none have come close to the level of Shenmue.
The world of Hong Kong is brought to life in convincing visual detail. The city is huge and you can buy maps to help you learn the layout of the city. Once you know your way around you can then learn what people are located where and some of their patterns throughout the day. These become increasingly important as the game progresses.
Shenmue II is your typical RPG-adventure hybrid with lots of exploring and item collection. The original offered all sorts of quirky little toys and items to collect that were supposed to carry over into the sequel. Obviously, this isn’t possible so the designers have given you most of the items you may have worked so hard to collect on the Dreamcast. There are still plenty of new items to collect.
Fighting is a big part of Shenmue II with more moves and lots more opportunities to engage in combat than the original. You will spend a great deal of time developing your skills in the martial arts learning the various styles and philosophies. I was surprised at the level of complexity and thoroughness this part of the game received. Ryo has over 50 moves at his disposal and since you are usually outnumbered you will need to master the art of fighting to get very far. As you use these moves you can increase their power with a unique level-up RPG element. This means that as you (the player) increase in skill so does Ryo.
Those of you familiar with Virtua Fighter will feel right at home with the fighting engine in Shenmue II. You can do grabs, punches, kicks, and all sorts of combos while moving around and dodging incoming attacks. The combat is slower than you might expect, at least when compared to modern day fighting games, but I found the pace a bit more realistic and it gave me time to plan my moves and attacks.
The control system and the Xbox controller is well-suited for the fighting parts of the game but I found that being forced to use the D-pad for simple movement was painfully imprecise and clunky. I have four brands of controllers and none of them have D-pads that are comfortable enough for extended periods of use. I see no reason why the analog stick couldn’t have been used for simple movement.
One thing that annoyed me about the original was the insane amount of searching required to find objects. You literally had to open every closet, drawer, and inspect every inch of every room to find both necessary and unnecessary items. Thankfully, this has been reduced to something more manageable and less annoying.
Much like the original game you will have plenty of main objectives that need to be completed to further the story, and there are plenty of mini-games and side quests to occupy your time. At times Shenmue II can resemble real life. Ryo will have to earn money to survive, but between odd jobs you can explore the streets and talk to the vast population, get into fights, gamble, and do other mundane tasks that may start to bore the average gamer. The pacing can start to drag at times with the story being trickled into your cup with an eyedropper. There were plenty of times I found myself wandering around the city looking for the right person to talk to for the story to advance.
Quick Time Events (QTE’s) were some of the more interesting elements of the original game and they are back in the sequel. These events are styled after those old laserdisc games like Dragon’s Lair where you have to hit a sequence of buttons or directions at just the right time. You are prompted with a sequence that pops-up on the screen and given a very short amount of time to repeat the button or sequence to successfully complete the goal. Most of the QTE’s are pass/fail so if you blow a sequence you can simply try again. If you liked these in the original then you will be glad to know there are more of them and they are longer and more challenging than ever. If you didn’t like them…oh well.
My journey through this game took about 32 hours but not all of that time is spent working on the main objectives. You will spend plenty of time working a job to get cash, which may seem restrictive at first. After all, you are here to solve a mystery and locate a killer. Wasting away the day working is certainly counterproductive, but at least you are given the freedom to choose how you earn your keep. If you don’t feel like doing hard labor you can take your chances gambling or engage in some street fighting for cash.
On a final note, the one thing I simply loved about the original was the ability to go online using the Dreamcast modem. You could actually download the current weather conditions in Japan and play the game in those conditions, get extended info on characters, or you could post your scores and stats online to compare with other Shenmue players. Unfortunately, the sequel shipped before the Xbox Live service launched so we are unable to take our Shenmue II experience online whether it be for future game enhancements or simple bragging rights.
Despite the obvious improvements over the Dreamcast version, the Xbox release of Shenmue II is simply not up to the standards we have come to expect from an Xbox game. The graphics are brighter and more colorful and the lighting is noticeably better than the Dreamcast import, but they only mask the average graphics that lurk behind the lens flare.
While the graphics are a bit limited in their technical quality I do have to commend the designers on some excellent artistic vision that include a breathtaking cityscape that is alive with unique people. Unlike other games where you see recycled characters simply redressed and plopped into a new location, in Shenmue’s Hong Kong almost every character is a unique render with subtle details and texture changes.
Animation can get a bit clunky at times with some of the characters moving like stiff mannequins. Ryo pivots in place when you turn him then moves forward in a walk that just seems a bit unnatural. The framerate is greatly improved over the Dreamcast yet there are a few occasions where it still dips dangerously low in some of the more crowded areas of town.
The camera angles are generally good and often interesting with a cinematic flair. There are some problems during the indoor combat where Ryo may go transparent or the camera may swing to a weird angle that hurts your ability to fight. For the most part the camera works quite well.
The cutscenes are quite spectacular and integrate almost seamlessly into the gameplay. I can only imagine how great this game would have been if it had been original designed on the Xbox. As it stands, you end up with an enhanced Dreamcast game that you can play on the Xbox, but at least the game is now available to thousands of gamers who have been waiting for the next installment in the Shenmue saga.
The music in Shenmue II is amazing and rivals that of any film score of a comparable genre. There is a rich oriental flair to the enchanting music that creates an excellent mood. The choice of instruments was perfect with plenty of wind and string instruments accompanying the cutscenes and gameplay.
The ambient sounds of city life and other sound effects are all excellent and help to create a living, breathing city. The only thing bad about the entire sound presentation is the English dub that is “forced” upon those of us playing the Xbox version. While the Dreamcast import featured the original Japanese dialog with English subtitles Microsoft has chosen to include only a new English translation. The result is a lot of clunky dialog with poor voice acting that just doesn’t seem to fit the overall presentation. Granted, most Japanese games lose a lot in the translation, but at least when you can enjoy the original dialect and read the script it is easier to forgive a bad translation.
The entire sound presentation is topped off with a nice Dolby Digital 5.1 mix for the movies and a 4.0 mix for the game. The lack of a center and LFE channel during the game is regrettable, but overall the final mix is really good and certainly much better than the Dreamcast.
Depending on your skill as an RPG gamer and how much time you want to spend on the non-critical aspects of this game you can get anywhere from 20-40 hours out of this title. In the end, Shenmue II is all about the story and once you have played out that drama there is little reason to revisit the game. This puts the game in a unique position in that you probably can’t finish it during a normal rental but you may not want to invest in a purchase, especially in light of the dubious future of the saga.
Shenmue II offers a clever blend of fighting, action, exploration, and even some arcade-style fun with the clever integration of the QTE game elements, but the pacing may be a bit slow for the conventional gamers. There are long periods of wandering around or performing mundane tasks that fail to further the story. It’s a unique game for a unique breed of gamer.
This is one of those games that you will either love or hate. If you played the original and weren’t able to play the Dreamcast import of the sequel then getting this game is probably a no-brainer. If you are looking for a traditional RPG experience then there are certainly better ones out there, although not many.